Dr Martin Salia, a surgeon who contracted the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone, has died at a hospital in Nebraska.

The 44 year-old was taken to hospital in Omaha on Saturday, but
passed away on Monday according to hospital officials.

"We are extremely sorry to announce that the third patient
we've cared for with the Ebola virus, Dr. Martin Salia, has
passed away," the hospital said in a statement, as reported
by AFP. The other two patients who were treated at the facility
were given clean bills of health.

"Dr. Salia was extremely critical when he arrived here, &
unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren't able to
save him." -Dr. Smith

The 44 year-old, who was a permanent US resident, contracted the
virus while working at a hospital in Freetown, the capital of
Sierra Leone, according to his relatives. He was already
suffering from advanced symptoms, including kidney and
respiratory failure when he arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center, which is one of four
US hospitals equipped to handle treatment of the disease, and has
the largest bio-containment unit in the country.

More information on Dr. Salia's case will be provided @ an
11:00 AM CT press conference. You can follow live tweets here.
#NebraskaMedEbola

While at the medical facility in Omaha, he was treated by Dr Phil
Smith. Writing, on his Twitter page, the doctor explained that
Salia had received a dose of convalescent plasma and ZMapp
therapy. "We used every possible treatment available,"
said Dr Smith.

Salia's wife, Isatu Salia, said on Monday that she and her family
were grateful for the efforts made by her husband's medical team.
"We are so
appreciative of the opportunity for my husband to be treated here
and believe he was in the best place possible," Salia said,
according to AP.

Salia, who was based in the state of Maryland, but spent a
significant amount of time in Freetown, had originally been
tested for the disease in early November. His test came back
negative leading to jubilant celebrations and embraces from
worried colleagues, the Washington Post reported. However, his
symptoms did not go away and he took another test on November 10,
which was positive forcing everyone who had been in physical
contact with the 44 year-old into quarantine

“We were celebrating. If the test says you are Ebola-free, we
assume you are Ebola-free,” said Komba Songu M’Briwa, who
cared for Salia at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center in
Freetown, the Washington Post added. “Then everything fell
apart.”

Dr. Martin Salia was a #hero in the
battle against #Ebola. He
chose service to his people in Sierra Leone above
self-preservation

In an interview in
April, Dr Martin Salia talked about how important it was for him
to work in the land of his birth and help others. He worked as a
surgeon at theUnited Methodist Kissy Hospital in
Sierra Leone.

“I took this job not because I want to, but I firmly believe
that it was a calling and that God wanted me to. That’s why I
strongly believe that God has brought me here…and I’m pretty sure
and confident that I just need to lean on him because he sent me
here. And that’s my passion,” he said in a video posted on
YouTube.

Salia, who was
originally from Sierra Leone, was the 10thpatient to be treated on US soil for
the virus. He is the second person to have died in the United
States from Ebola.In October, a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, died at a Texas hospital from
the virus, which has killed thousands of people in West
Africa.

The current outbreak of Ebola is the worst on record. It has so
far killed at least 5,177 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone
and Guinea, according to the latest figures from the World Health
Organization, as reported by Reuters.